Hi all,

Just wondering how firm other people's brake pedal is. The pedal in the missus n15 sss is somewhat firm and it doesn't stop that great. The pedal goes down the first part reasonably easy but after that it gets hard quick.

I've done the simple tests on the booster to check it is getting a vacuum and then holding (pumping the pedal with the engine off till it goes firm then starting the car while pushing on the pedal and it does drop like it should) and the check valve is working. I haven't tested to see what vacuum the engine is running yet in case it's simply a case of it having a leak that is making it not reach enough vacuum to properly assist in breaking, and I'm going to flush the system to make sure there isn't a blockage somewhere, but none of the brakes seem cooler or hotter than the others (although it takes a few hard stops from 80kmh to get the rears to be anything more than just warm). The fluid is the original fluid (which is why I'm going to flush it) and the front pads were changed a few years back. Rears are still the originals and have a decent amount left.

To best give an idea of how firm the pedal is, it's pretty much the same as when you pump the brakes when the engine is off, but it has the free play at the top of the stroke like it should. Other cars I drive you can always push the pedal further and even once it firms up you can usually get a bit more out of it.

The initial bite is pretty ordinary and low speed stopping is sometimes really bad unless you push reasonably hard. If I push pretty hard I can get the fonts to lock up but it's a fair bit harder than other cars.

I don't drive the car that often so I don't really know how long it's been doing it. The missus doesn't really notice it since that's all she drives and doesn't drive it very often or far.

Just really wanting to know how it compares to others and any ideas on what else to try that won't cost much in case it's not the cause.